BOTOLAN, Zambales — A Tokyo-based international company is set to invest P35 billion in a palm oil plantation in Zambales, benefiting approximately 31,000 Indigenous Peoples (IPs).

Architect Garry Carl S. Froa, chairperson of Grun Architekten International Gruppe Inc., announced the project on Tuesday. According to Froa, the company has reached an agreement with the IP leadership to utilize around 10,000 hectares of ancestral domain land for the plantation.

“Grun Architekten, together with its foreign funder and business partner, shares the same goals as the national and local governments of Zambales in helping the IPs improve their living conditions,” Froa said.

“We aim to provide a safe, healthy, and productive environment, create livelihood projects, and develop infrastructure such as housing, healthcare centers, schools, markets, roads and bridges,” he added.

The company plans to lease the 10,000-hectare land from the IPs for 25 years, with the option to renew for an additional 25 years.

Froa also stressed that they chose to invest in the IP-owned land to benefit the tribal members, many of whom were displaced by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the early 1990s.